Peaks
The highest summit of the range is Cerro Paine Grande, at 50°59′56″S 73°05′43″W / 50.99889°S 73.09528°W / -50.99889; -73.09528. For a long time its elevation was claimed to be 3,050 m, but in August 2011 it was ascended for the third time and found to be 2,884 m.
The best-known and most spectacular summits are the three Towers of Paine (Spanish: Torres del Paine, 50°57′09″S 72°59′23″W / 50.9525°S 72.98972°W / -50.9525; -72.98972). They are gigantic granite monoliths shaped by the forces of glacial ice.
The South Tower of Paine (about 2,500 m, at 50°57′33″S 72°59′42″W / 50.95917°S 72.995°W / -50.95917; -72.995) is now thought to be the highest of the three, although this has not been definitely established. It was first climbed by Armando Aste.
The Central Tower of Paine (about 2,460 m or 8,100 feet) was first climbed in 1963 by Chris Bonington and Don Whillans, and the North Tower of Paine (about 2,260 m) was first climbed by Guido Monzino.
Other summits include the Cuerno Principal, about 2,100 m but often quoted at 2,600 m, and Cerro Paine Chico, which is usually correctly quoted at about 2,650 m.
The radiometric age for the quartz diorite at Cerro Paine is 12 ± 2 million years. by the rubidium-strontium method and 13 ± 1 million years. by the potassium-argon method.
Read more about this topic: Cordillera Del Paine
Famous quotes containing the word peaks:
“John Brown and Giuseppe Garibaldi were contemporaries not solely in the matter of time; their endeavors as liberators link their names where other likeness is absent; and the peaks of their careers were reached almost simultaneously: the Harper’s Ferry Raid occurred in 1859, the raid on Sicily in the following year. Both events, however differing in character, were equally quixotic.”
—John Cournos (1881–1956)
“Why wont they let a year die without bringing in a new one on the instant, cant they use birth control on time? I want an interregnum. The stupid years patter on with unrelenting feet, never stopping—rising to little monotonous peaks in our imaginations at festivals like New Year’s and Easter and Christmas—But, goodness, why need they do it?”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)
“On the secret map the assassins
Cloistered, the Moon River was marked
Near the eighteen peaks and the city
Of humiliation and defeat ...”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)